


That's What Big Brothers Do

by DianaandAlicia



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brother-Sister Relationships, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 21:09:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17588447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DianaandAlicia/pseuds/DianaandAlicia
Summary: After a fight at Broke Jaw Ranch, Alicia gets sent to the hotbox. With Madison gone, Nick's the one to pick up all the pieces.





	That's What Big Brothers Do

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, I'm back! This oneshot was something I requested someone to write a little while back but I don't think they got around to it or are going to so I'm writing it instead. A few things to note before you start reading:
> 
> The fire fight in 3x09 never happened and Troy was never banished and Nick was never put in the hotbox. In this story, the ranch isn't having any problems regarding water and Madison, Walker and Jake are going to the trading post just to see what's out there, and not on a mission to secure water. 
> 
> I think that's all, everything else is explained in the story.
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you like it!

It was a quiet day on Broke Jaw Ranch. It’s been about two weeks since the Nation moved on to the property and surprisingly, after a few days of tension, everyone has mostly started to get along. Everything was going so well in fact, that Jake, Walker and Madison had left, to go on a run to a trading post in Mexico.

Nick was still working on the house that had burned, putting the finishing touches on it and Troy, having nothing better to do and wanting to be Nick’s friend, was helping him.

“I think that we’ll be able to call the house complete by lunch time tomorrow.” Nick said as he placed some floor boards down. He was repairing the part of the floor that he had dug up after Jeremiah had shot it. Troy nodded in response, since he was busy putting a new pane of glass in the window and he didn’t want to drop it.

The two continued to work and a few minutes later, Nick heard Ofelia frantically calling him as she was getting closer and closer to the house.

“Nick, we need you to come down here now!” She panted, out of breath from running.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“It’s Alicia.”

“What happened?” Nick asked again, following Ofelia with Troy not far behind.

“She got in a fight with someone from the Nation. She punched them and Lee put her in the hotbox as punishment. He let her out after four hours and when he gave her water, she chugged it and threw up.” Ofelia explained as they arrived to their destination.

When Nick saw his sister, his eyes widened at the state that she was in.

She was obviously sweaty and dehydrated, disoriented from the heat. She was also crying, whimpering Nick’s name over and over, but the fact that her entire front was covered in vomit was the thing that stood out most.

“Why the fuck would you put her in that thing?” Nick growled at Lee, seeing the hotbox as an equivalent to a medieval torture instrument.

“She started a fight. She had to get punished.”

“Then you should have got me, and had me deal with her. I would have had her help us with the house or something.” Nick explained.

Before Lee could respond, everyone’s attention was pulled away from the conversation when they heard Alicia’s cries get stronger. In fact, she was crying so hard, it wasn’t long before she gagged and threw up a second time, with the front of her shirt getting the brunt of the damage again.

“Oh Alicia.” Nick said gently, squatting down so he could be eye level with his sister. “We need to get you cleaned up. Do you think you’re strong enough to walk, or do you want me to carry you?”

“Nicky…...” She whimpered, holding her arms out to him.

Nick nodded in understanding and gently hoisted his sister up into his arms and carried her bridal style to the bunk house. 

When they got to the back room of the bunk house by the shower, he sat Alicia on the shower floor, fully clothed, and started to unlace her boots so he could take off her shoes and socks. Since she had been sitting on her knees both times that she was sick, her shoes and socks were spared from getting anything on them. Nick took them back to the bedroom area and put them under Alicia’s bed before coming back and helping his sister out of her t-shirt and jeans.

“Nope, we’re leaving those on.” Nick said as Alicia motioned to her bra and panties, wondering if she needed to take them off.

“I’m sorry.” Alicia mumbled, as Nick helped her to her feet and turned the shower on.

“Sorry about what?” Nick asked as he carefully washed her.

“For throwing up, for making a mess you had to take care of.”

“You don’t have to apologize for throwing up. Besides, think of all the times I got sick during my withdrawals and you cleaned up after me. We’re not even close to calling it even.” He joked.

Once Alicia was deemed clean enough, Nick dried her off and wrapped her in a towel. “I’m going to get you some new clothes. Don’t try to move around too much, I don’t want you falling.”

He left the bathroom and returned a minute later, with a long sleeve pajama shirt and a pair of pajama pants. He also had new underwear and socks, and he set them on the counter.

“Do you think you can dress yourself, or do you need help?”

“Myself.”

“Ok. I’ll be in the other room. Take your time and come on out when you’re ready.”

Alicia nodded in understanding and Nick left to give her some privacy. While she was dressing, he took the time to straighten out the bedroom and get some things around to make his sister more comfortable. As he was making Alicia’s bed, he heard a knock on the door.

He went to answer it and saw Troy standing in the entrance way.

“Hey.”

“Hey. How is she?”

“She’s gonna be ok. She just needs to hydrate and take it easy. She should be back to normal tomorrow.”

“Ah. Do you need anything?”

“I don’t think so. I didn’t see that we were low on anything in here.”

“Ok. Well, I brought some salt, so you can put a little in her water. It helps balance everything out. Just don’t put too much in.”

Nick nodded. “Thanks Troy.”

“I’m assuming you won’t want to leave her so later on I’ll drop some supper off for both of you, that way you can stay here.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate that.” Nick said gratefully.

“No problem. I’ll see you later.” Troy said, turning around and leaving.

As Nick shut the door, he heard the door to the bathroom open, and he got back in the room in time to see Alicia slowly make her way to her bed.

“Are you starting to feel a little bit better?”

“No, not really.”

“Can you tell me what the big things that are bothering you are so I can fix it?”

“I’m mostly just tired and thirsty.”

“Tired and thirsty? Is that all?”

“My stomach hurts.”

“Ok. I think what’ll be best for you is to drink some water and then relax in bed for the rest of the day. Does that sound good?”

Alicia nodded so Nick went over and tucked her into her bed.

As he was preparing her water, Alicia spoke up.

“Nick? I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?”

“I know you were working on your house, and if I hadn’t gotten in a fight and ended up in the hotbox, you wouldn’t have had to stop what you were doing to take care of me. Plus you had to clean up after me, which is really gross.”

“Alicia, you don’t have to apologize. First off, back before the world ended and I was going out and doing drugs, you took care of me every single time I came home from the hospital. It’s my turn to take care of you. And yeah, sure, cleaning up vomit isn’t fun for anybody but I promise you that I’ll do my best to take care of you, just like how you took care of me. The house doesn’t matter. It’s almost done anyways and this only adds an extra half day to the project. You and your health always will me more important to me Ali. And that fight? It happens. You made a mistake. I’m not going to be mad at you for that.”

Alicia was quiet at that but Nick knew she still felt guilty. He knew that telling her these things wouldn’t really do anything so he’d have to show her through his actions. He had to give her unconditional love and provide the best possible care that he was capable of giving her.

“Alright. Here’s your water. I put a pinch of salt in it to help balance your body’s sodium and stuff. Little sips, no chugging. If your stomach’s already upset, chugging will only make it feel worse and you’ll get sick again.”

“Ok.” Was all Alicia said as she took little sips of the water. Once she had her fill, she settled back down in bed.

“Take a nap. I’ll leave the water here on your bedside table and I’ll be here the whole time if you need anything. I’ll wake you up in a couple hours for supper so just rest up.”

Alicia nodded and yawned, rubbing her eyes. Nick waited until she was asleep and then he went back into the bathroom area and went on to wash all the clothing that had been covered in vomit and once that task was complete, he went back out to the main room to be by his sister.

The rest of the day was mostly uneventful. Alicia slept like a rock, only getting up when Nick woke her for the supper that Troy brought them. After supper she got ready for bed and Nick tucked her in again, giving her a hug and a kiss to the forehead.

“Goodnight Nick. I love you.”

“Goodnight Alicia. I love you too.” Nick responded after turning the lights off. He was going to bed too, and it wasn’t long before all was quiet in the bunk house, and both siblings were asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Again, thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!


End file.
